Dearly Beloved
by SilverIceWolf
Summary: After finally being reunited in The World That Never Was, they said that they would always be together. But how far can promises go when danger threatens the happy trio? It's the last straw, and Kairi can't take it any longer. Kickass Kairiness
1. Fragments of Yesterday

A/N: Hedo my peoplez! SilverIceWolf/Junsui-chan here (duh)! Wow, I've been going through my Word documents and I am shocked to say that there are several near-finished pieces for me to post (that I thought I already posted)! Doh. This piece was done a couple months ago at Kawaii-chan/chocolate-wolfie's house... at like, 3 o'clock in the morning. I iz insane. Well, it's ment to be a chapter fic, but let's see how many reviews I get from it. I already have half of chapter two done. The funny thing is, the story is centered around Kairi... and I don't really even like Kairi that much. Well, as you _might_ see, Kairi is **not** going to stay pathetic andall "pity me, pity me"... but still angsty, 'cuz angst is fun. YAY! Happy angst! Gomen, I realize how short it is, but like I said, it was done at 3 in the morning. Enjoy!

_**Dearly Beloved**_

_By: Junsui-chan_

_Chapter 1: Fragments of Yesterday_

Sunlight streamed down in golden beams through the open window. Soft violet curtains rustled softly in the morning wind, the tropical smell of pineapples and sea breeze drifting through in pleasant wafts. The plush white comforter was decorated with pink sakura petals, and it moved as the girl beneath turned to her side. She was awake, and had been for several minutes, but was savoring in the warmth of her dream. She pulled her plush black kitten to her chest and nuzzled her face into it. Sighing, she sat up with her back resting against the wall.

Kairi tucked a loose lock of strawberry hair behind her ear and stared at the light cast upon the floor. Absentmindedly, she stroked the pink ribbon tied around the plush's neck, smiling softly when her fingers brushed the charm attached to the knot of the bow. She traced the shape of a crown, closing her eyes blissfully. Kairi loved this time of morning. It was early, yet late enough for the sun to be out and to have been enslaved to schoolwork – had it been a weekday of course.

Kairi found herself gazing at the sun-streaked carpet again. There was something about it that had always made her think of stained glass windows. And when she turned to the window, she could, if but for a moment, imagine long slender white wings tucked gracefully behind her as she stared out a bright cathedral window. She sighed mournfully, knowing these things to be only illusions, although she treasured them dearly. It was illusions like this that had kept her company in the lonely time when Sora had left her.

Sora. Just thinking his name brought a smile to her lips. Three years ago, they were separated when Heartless had come and attacked their island home. After months, they saw each other for a few tender moments, and then disappeared from sight. A year had passed, and Kairi had come to the shore each day, awaiting his coming. She knew that if she believed in him, he would be able to reach her. She was naïve then. She knew now that it took more than faith to bring someone back. As time passed, Sora faced greater and greater challenges.

A year ago, Kairi found herself in a foreign land. She was trapped inside a fortress of white where people in black leather cloaks that named themselves "Organization XIII" had kept her prisoner. It was there too, that Riku had been hiding, in the form of Xehenort's Heartless. It was only a year ago that Kairi was finally reunited with Sora. But that time now seemed like an eternity ago. Shortly after there arrival back home to Destiny Islands, the trio had received a message in a bottle bearing the king's seal.

Kairi had read the sparse words over Sora's shoulder, Riku flanking Sora's other side. The three read slowly, confusion and worry growing by the moment. Kairi stared at her ceiling fan, frowning as she tried to remember what the message had said. It was cryptic, whatever it was. Sora and Riku had a long conversation after that, and then told her that it was nothing that the king couldn't handle, and therefore none of their concern. So a year had passed in relaxation, finally within the comfort of home.

Kairi continued to keep up her grades in school, and Riku surprised everyone with his decision to become a peer tutor. Sora improved in the athletics department, much to his delight, and came to rival Riku in track meets. Ever since bonding with Naminé, Kairi noticed an improvement in her artistic skills, and felt more and more compelled to write or sing. This of course including her incessant doodling on class work and enhanced English grade. The trio had taken time every weekend ever since their reunion to visit the island that they had made home in their younger years.

Riku decided to finish their raft and turned it into a boat, complete with sails and ratlines. Sora was rather impressed and insisted on naming the boat "Oathkeeper", with little objection from Riku. Sora took to exploring the island once more and challenging the other kids that came to visit – in which case he was the victor of every fight. This would always lead to Kairi scolding him for being unfair, and then being splashed with water. By then, Riku would've joined in, and there would be a big water fight and the three would end up laughing and gasping for air on the beach, sprawled out and completely soaked.

And on at least one of those nights, they'd go to their favorite hangout, the bent paopu tree. Riku would lean against the trunk with his arms crossed over his chest and Sora and Kairi would sit beside each other. Together, they would watch the sunset in silence, and they could pretend that nothing had changed in those three years and that everything was all right. But things had changed.

After transforming back to his rightful self after assuming Xehenort's Heartless' form, Riku had grown several inches and his hair was even longer and silkier then ever. He had developed broader shoulders and was very masculine – Kairi always had to remind herself that he was seventeen now. Sora, now sixteen, was also taller and stronger. Kairi would silently enjoy watching him and Riku work shirtless on Oathkeeper. Even though they were "together", not much had changed between them. They were still awkward and were outwardly contempt with watching each other.

Kairi realized that she herself had changed over the years. She too was sixteen, and it showed. Her hair was a shoulder length and she had lost any baby-fat she might have had left. She was slender and stood at five nine. With a blush of pride, she discovered that she was now too shapely to fight clothes from just a year prior, and enjoyed several costly mall trips with her school friend, Selphie Tilmitt. After said mall excursions, the girls would pull on their new clothes and show off to the boys. On one such occasion, Selphie asked Kairi – rather loudly – if she wanted to show Sora her new lingerie too, and Riku had good naturedly never let Sora forget the look on his face.

Everything was different now. Kairi stretched and scooped her plush cat into her arms and stalked to the kitchen. It was off-season for school right now, and Kairi didn't know what day it really was, nor frankly, did she care. The daybook in the kitchen said that it was Thursday, which meant that her adopted mother was already at work. Her father had died shortly after they came to Destiny Islands, and had left her in her "mother's" care. So Kairi ate her cereal in silence, and washed for a new day.

Wrapped in a fresh towel, Kairi wrung her hair in the sink and trotted to her room, throwing open the closet. After browsing through several different possible wardrobe options, she made her selection. It was eerily similar to one that she had owned a year ago – but it WAS her favorite, and after all, Sora had liked it. This new outfit consisted of a white-cropped edge halter-top that bared her stomach, and a skirt of one ruffely pink layer and a straight skirt underneath with a cropped edge that matched her top. Two violet belts crossed each other and hung loosely at her hips, her familiar black pouch fastened onto one with lavender ribbon. Over all of this, she wore a light pink jacket-dress. It was tank-top style and came close to hanging off of her shoulders with a black hood hanging at her back. It hugged her body in a flattering way and was fastened in the center with a silver crown pendant. The sides had gold platted circular holes, which lavender ribbon was threaded through and roughly two inches from either side of these holes were silver zippers that ran the length of the jacket-dress and had no actual function. The jacket-dress fanned out from where it was pinned (just below her bust, so that her bare stomach was visible), and gathered at her ankles. She wore soft pink sneaker that matched her jacket-dress with violet soles and lavender laces that wrapped up her ankles. In the centers of each bow was a silver crown pendant.

Before leaving the house, Kairi pulled on her silver teardrop shaped necklace and a few "Livestrong" inspired bracelets in cameo green, red, and buttercup yellow. For as much as a fashionesta Kairi appeared to be, it didn't really bother her if her accessories clashed with her outfit. On her way out, Kairi slung a brown book bag over her shoulder and then locked the door behind her. Yes, everything was different now. The redhead strolled down the broad dusty roads through her hometown.

The palm trees had gotten shorter, it seemed, merely because she had gotten taller. She giggled when a village child, after continuously whacking at an un-offending trunk was clipped upside the head with an angry pineapple and proved to be frightened of the tree. Other children of various ages were wandering about, playing their made-up games or hopscotch or marbles. As she approached the beach, there where several boys playing with a blitzball and they whistled at her. She glared at them disgustedly, unaccustomed to not having Sora or Riku by her side to tell them off.

Kairi stood on the docks for a moment, taking in a crisp sea-salt tang that seemed to infest everything. Soon, she picked out her boat and placed her book bag carefully on a seat and took up the oars. Most girls hated rowing their own boats, but Kairi had grown up with two boys as her closest companions, and was well accustomed to racing them – and more often then not, losing. But that was what made it so much fun, because it was a challenge. Within a couple of minutes, Kairi arrived on the miniature island.

After securing her boat to the dock, she removed her shoes and wriggled her toes in the warm sand. "Hot hot hot!" he chanted, quickly racing over to the water's edge. She sighed happily as cool water soothed her burning feet. She waded in to her calves, not minding that her jacket-dress was getting wet. She trudged over to her boat and carefully removed her book bag, stepping out of the shallows so as to not risk it getting wet. This time the sand didn't feel so hot and she padded out and along the wooden gangway to her favorite spot.

Kairi and Sora would come out here often and draw on the dark walls with pieces of sharpened flint. She ran a hand along their old drawings thoughtfully, remembering all of the stories and adventures they'd pretend to have. She found it ironic that they had spent their entire childhood imagining a place far away, and once they got there, all they wanted was to be home. Finally she arrived at her favorite image.

This picture was the unspoken words between them. Sora was on one side, Kairi on the other. Each was holding out a hand with a paopu fruit to the other's mouth. But something was different this time. Atop Kairi's head was a small crown that resembled the ones depicted in her many adornments. Below this was written, "My Queen". Kairi felt warm tears trickle down her face as she traced the crown with her fingers. She allowed her hand to drop and her fingertips brushed something hard and cold.

Recoiling in surprise, Kairi sat back and looked down at the object curiously. It was a glass bottle. Holding it up so that sunlight streaked through the rocky ceiling, she could she a message was coiled up inside. She frowned. "This isn't where we hid the king's message." She mused. Turning the bottle around, she found that the seal was missing. She uncorked the bottle and pulled out the paper, smiling instantly at the handwriting. This wasn't from the king.

_Kairi,_

_There is a lot I want to tell you right now, and there is a lot that you must know. But I don't have that much time. I knew that you would come here; it is our special place after all. Go to the paopu tree, there is a letter there for you. I know that Riku wouldn't want you to know, but I think that if I didn't tell you, you'd only worry more. Riku's dark powers have come back and even if he won't admit it, I know he's scared. I just want you to know that I'm sorry and that I love you._

S 

Kairi sat with the letter in her hands, re-reading it several times. She blinked hard and shook her head. _I love you._ She smiled and fought away the tears threatening to fall in her elation. It wasn't until seconds later that the full force of the letter kicked in. "I don't have much time?" Kairi frowned. Standing up, she grabbed her book bag and slung it over her shoulder. She made her way over to the paopu tree as the letter directed, worry starting to crease her brow. "Riku… poor Riku. Why would he hide that? He has friends that love him, he know that… I guess he just doesn't want to worry me."

The second bottle sat half-buried in the sand at the base of the paopu tree in full view of the boardwalk leading from the shack. Kairi ran over to it and kneeled down, extracting the letter hurriedly.

_Kairi,_

_Please don't worry about us. Problems have come up and we've decided to take immediate action to fix them. If everything goes as planned, then you will see us again very soon. Don't worry; we'll stick together this time. The king will have the answers we seek and then we can ask him about his letter. We think that it might help us, what's in that letter, so we took it with us for safekeeping. We may have to board the gummi ship for a short time, but we'll keep you posted. Just wait and we'll come back just like before. Don't get into trouble while we're gone, okay?_

S & R 

Kairi sat down hard, staring at the paper dumbfounded. She felt numb. "… just like before." She muttered, hot tears falling freely. "Just like before? No!" she held the two letters to her chest. "Not like before. I waited for a year last time! How long will it be this time? You say that you'll be back soon, but you say that you'll be using gummi travel, for me to wait like before." She fell into the sand and sobbed, wind whispering in her ear. "How long?" she cried until all that was left was the murmur of the waves on the beach below.

A/N: Soooo? Whatcha think? Tell me please! ... I'll give you a cookie...


	2. Dawn of Beginnings

A/N: -looks around corner and aviods a tomatoe- Um... I guess chapter two came out a bit late? Seeing as I started this LAST SUMMER... -.-VVVVV Ya... sorry guys, I didn't expect the hiatus to be lasting this long! I've had so many other projects! Gah... well, now I have more time to work on this, so please enjoy!

_**Dearly Beloved**_

_By: Junsuichan_

_Chapter 2: Dawn of Beginnings_

When Kairi awoke, the sun was low on the horizon. The sky rippled with orange and pink hues, clinging to whispy clouds and urging the night on to twilight. The sun was now just a fiery semi-circle floating on the distant sea, bleeding bright light into the steady waves. A few early stars flecked the eastern sky where a ghost like crescent moon was just appearing. Kairi sat up groggily, rubbing her head. She looked around in alarm.

"Crap!" she cried, stuffing the letters into her book bag and slinging it over her shoulder. She ran down the planks and through the small hut, dashed across the beach, and hopped into her boat. Hacking the rope away from it's mooring, she rowed as fast as she could before the town decided to send out search boats for her. In what seemed like a painfully long time, Kairi arrived back on her island. She strode back through town towards her house nervously. Nobody was out at this hour – everyone was eating or getting ready to turn in for the night.

Kairi gulped and tried to calm down before turning the knob to her front door and stepping inside. "I-I'm hooome!" she called, trying to keep the guilt from her voice. But she got no response. "Mom?" she called, moving through the rooms. "That's funny." She mused, sighing at her luck. "I guess she hasn't left the office yet." She flew up the stairs, skipping every other step, and flopped down on her bed.

She flipped over and retrieved the two letters, skimming them both again. Her cheeks still felt wet from crying. "I won't let them leave me. I'm not the same girl they remember me as." She sighed dejectedly. "So I'm gonna find them." She stated with sudden determination, holding her black kitten plush in her hands. "And I'm gonna show them the best I can be." By the time Kairi's foster mother had come home, Kairi was already fast asleep on her bed, plush in her arms, dreaming of keys, crowns, and thalassa shells.

The following morning was dreary and gray – apparently, a foggy mist had rolled over the islands. "It feels my pain." Kairi muttered as she sat at her vanity, combing the tangles and sand out of her hair. She changed out of the outfit she was wearing the previous morning, finding that she had slept in it, and threw it in the wash. This time, she chose a simple white dress with a long, semi-sheer, scarlet sarong. Adding her usual accessories, Kairi sat in her beanbag chair and continued working on one of her sketches.

She wasn't really sure what this one was going to turn out as, but assumed that Naminé probably did. Soon, she found her focus elsewhere, and, frustrated, turned the radio on before plopping back down. But the restlessness refused to leave her, and Kairi finally snapped the notebook closed in agitation. No matter how many times she had denied it that morning, she knew that her proclamation to find her friends wasn't just a dream.

"Fine!" she snapped to the silence. "I'll start preparing myself." She knew that she was more then likely talking to herself, but it helped, and besides, Naminé might help her remember something. Then again, she could just imagine the blonde in her mind's eye rapping on the inside of her skull. "I'm going! I'm going!" Kairi whispered loudly as she poked through her drawers. Making a soft clucking sound with her tongue, throwing open her closet door and stepping inside the small room. At length, she emerged with a duffel bag into which were piled a handful of outfits and miscellaneous items. Blue eyes scanned the girlish bedroom meticulously, careful not to skip over anything vital. They darted back down to the bulging sack at her feet and she sighed dejectedly, plopping down on her bed.

"Oh, Naminé! Who am I trying to kid? I don't know the first thing of where I intend to go, or do, or even PACK!" she vented, kicking the duffel upon the last word. A strange sense of warmth washed over her body, feeling almost as though the sun itself was reaching through the curtained windows to embrace her gently.

"_Don't worry._" A soft voice reassured her. "_Travel light, only bring the things you need the absolute most, like Sora and Riku do. Don't worry about the rest just yet, things will come to you in time._"

"A-Alright." Kairi breathed shakily, the warmth gradually fading along with the voice. Steadying herself, she blatantly ignored the bag full of clothing and marched downstairs, and into the basement where the washer and drawer were. The basement was less than half completed, with only a singular wall painted an egg-shell white. It was along this same wall that the Whirlpool's were, alongside a floor to ceiling row of cabinetry that housed the bleach, laundry detergent and fresheners, and extra sheets and linens. The very bottom of the cabinet housed the emergency food rations, sandbags, deflated life vests, and flashlights that all the civilians of Destiny Islands were mandated to keep in case of a tsunami. This was, of course, the real intent of having the basement.

Kairi stared at them uncertainly, now clean clothes folded over her arms. Darting a quick glance up the flight of wooden steps to the door that stood ajar at the landing, she hastily flung open a door and bent over to observe what wares she could collect from it. As her hands weaved through the many vials of multi-toned liquids, they clinked together loudly, threatening to report her activity. Wincing, she scooted away, scooping the nearest three to her chest and burying them within the folds of her over-jacket. Closing the door with her foot, she scurried up the stairs and couldn't breathe normally until she had impatiently locked herself back in her own bedroom.

Guilt dripped down her conscience and weighed upon her mind heavily. Stealing was never right, not even from family. _Especially_ from family. It was bad enough that anything that her "mother" might catch her doing would have to be covered up by a lie, but she also wouldn't get the chance to bid anyone good-bye before leaving in case she was forbidden to leave. And nothing could get much worse if that happened. Well, of course it _could_. The island could be hit by a tsunami and leave her the sole survivor with no means of escape while Sora and Riku met their fate far, far, away, and left her to waste away by herself – not like that would ever happen.

"I really need to grow up sometime." The redhead chuckled to herself, hanging up the outfit for the next day, smoothing out all the wrinkles with a hand. "And stop being so melodramatic!"

"I concur!" a feminine voice agreed cheerfully. Kairi yelped in surprise and wheeled around to come face to face with a pair of bright emerald eyes staring directly into her own.

"Oh, Selphie!" the teen exhaled noticeably, heart still hammering in her chest. Attempting to appear nonchalant, she moved over to her vanity and leaned against it, running an ornate paddle brush through her shoulder-length tresses. "How long have you been there?" she asked nervously, suppressing the wavering undertone to her question.

"Weeell…" the brunette trailed off thoughtfully, putting a single finger to pursed lips. "Just long enough to hear that little ramble and you laughing to yourself like a crazy woman!" she giggled.

"Nice." Her best friend replied flatly, rolling her eyes.

"I was starting to wonder if you had been sniffing something!" the slightly younger teen continued, picking up a stray stuffed animal from its precarious perch.

"SELPHIE!" the other teen scolded, replacing the brush back on the vanity. Her hair wasn't at all tangled in the first place, so it was a lame guise in the first place, but it did always manage to calm the girl's nerves. _I should remember to pack this._

"But really, Kairi." The green eyed girl asked seriously. "Are you doing drugs?"

"That's ENOUGH!" her best friend squawked, chucking the nearest thing she could find at Selphie's flippie 'do. This happened to be a folding fan.

"Ow!" the brunette winced, massaging the area on her hand between giggles.

"I guess this means that you want to tell me that you got a part in that play?" Kairi asked, rolling her eyes lightly. Selphie had, for as long as she could remember, always been the melodramatic one, destined to be a famous actress one day. She already had the fashionesta part down pat, and the acting came naturally. She giggled lightly to herself as the girl launched off into a grand story of how the auditions went. Selphie was very animated, but could lie through her teeth with no flaws whatsoever. And she knew it too. On more than one occasion, when the two girls went to the mall, the cashier would come up with a price for a single item that the girl had placed upon the counter. She would rummage through her purse and blush; excusing herself with saying she didn't have enough money. And this always, no matter the day or time, rewarded her with a free of discounted item. Of course, this charm generally only worked on the male cashiers.

Well, had it only been an external-relationship skill that she harbored. Kairi's nose wrinkled up as she suppressed a laugh at one memory in particular. The scene unfolded before her eyes – she sat beside Selphie on the sandy boardwalk, looking out over the waves, her book bag lying beside her. Her homework scattered over the beach, resting by the shore. Sora sprinted over to the handouts and scooped them into his arms, just out of the reach of Tidus and Wakka's rushing feet. Sora laughed and handed the papers back to her flashing a sweet 100 watt smile.

"It's a shame Riku couldn't make it here today!" he chirped, scratching the back of his leg with the opposite foot.

"Ya, I know!" his girlfriend agreed, rifling through the heavy stack.

"I heard he had some after-school activity today or something." The keyblader added thoughtfully. Kairi looked up at him.

"You, well didn't you know –?" she began, intending to say, "Didn't you know he had a special track meet for his grade level today?", but Selphie interfered, placing a hand lightly to her friends hip. Kairi paused mid-sentence, and glanced and her best girl friend. She knew that twinkling look that gathered in the nun chuck wielders eyes. Selphie was about to tell a trade-mark lie, and this one seemed like it was going to be just a bit more far-fetched than the rest. Sora frowned, not understanding the look that passed between the girls.

"Didn't I know what?" he asked curiously, cocking his head to the side like a puppy. "What's up you guys."

"Well, Sora…" Selphie trailed off, staring at her feet which she twiddled around in sandaled circles. "Riku…" she looked up at him a moment deploringly, then her voice got very quiet. "Didn't you know he was _gay_?" It was a good thing that within the next second, Sora flew back about four feet in a spray of sputtering sand, or else he'd have seen the look of shock on Kairi's face, or the hands that rushed up to stifle the sound of her laughter. That incident had very interesting side effects, as can be imagined; one of these resulting in Sora being forced to wear a dress to school for a day. Another being Riku exacting his revenge on the girls and having everyone be sure that the two were "girlfriends" in more ways than two. Of course by then Sora was in due need of some serious therapy, but obviously things were sorted out again and back to normal. Sora and Riku both knew the other was indeed _not_ gay, and they were both on very good terms. Well, Sora could never eat candy canes after that, but in any case. _No… things aren't normal again. _Kairi frowned, remembering the letters.

"And then the stage light – hey! Kai! What's wrong?" Selphie suddenly broke off mid-ramble.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, please continue." The redhead brushed it aside politely.

"Nu-uh! Somethin's up!" the brunette insisted, poking the other girl in the side lightly. "Tell."

"I guess I'm just tired is all. I was up kinda late last night." Somehow, it felt almost as though it was Naminé speaking at this point, she at least, might have the power to tell a believable lie.

"Oh, okay." Selphie shrugged. "I guess I'll get going then! I'll tell you more about it tomorrow!" she chirped, scooping up her mini-jacket and soaring down the stairs. "See ya later!" she shouted at the bottom of the landing before closing the door behind her. Kairi sighed, mentally exhausted, and fell back on her bed. The truth was, she had NO idea what her friend had been telling her about for the past two hours, but it would hardly matter because if all went according to plan, she'd be gone by dawn.

* * *

"Already ten o'clock?!" the teen exclaimed, brushing back a stray lock of hair. The day had just flown by for her, what with Selphie visiting, having to help her mom with the grocery shopping, cooking, and then showering, cleaning her room, and FINALLY getting the time to finish gathering her supplies for the long journey ahead. Mentally reprimanding herself because her best friends already had a two day head start on her, she slipped the last elixir into one of the side pouches on her outfit.

"I'll need to get money somehow…" she mused, allowing her eyes to wander wearily about the shadowy room. At long rest, they landed upon the discarded duffel in the corner. "And I think I have just the perfect way how, too…"

* * *

So...? What do you think? I'll give out a plate full of cookies to any reviewer this time! -hopeful grin-


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